In the age of electrification in the automotive industry, it seems that battery life has become less of a concern. Tesla, no stranger to the electric vehicle space, continues to push the edge of innovation — this time with batteries.
A dominant driver for the adoption of clean energy, Tesla has stunned car experts as they have discovered that a high-mileage Tesla taxi doesn't need a new battery.
As explained by Inside EVs, the Tesla Model S Taxi — popular for its acceleration and large range — contains its original battery despite covering over 430,000 miles and not having had its motors serviced. This is incredibly impressive as the owners of Tesla taxis usually have done the minimum level of maintenance when it comes to looking after the vehicles.
Recently, Tesla has been dominating EV sales in the United States, outselling all significant rivals combined in the first half of 2023, signaling a push to make clean, efficient vehicles more mainstream.
A big contributor to this has been Tesla's innovation to make EV ownership more convenient. For example, Tesla's "Drive on Sunshine" feature allows Tesla owners to charge their cars using excess solar energy from home solar panels. This means you can power up your Tesla using the sun's energy, saving on electricity bills and reducing reliance on the conventional grid.
Switching to the use of an EV provides many benefits for drivers, including a reduction in fuel costs and a significant decrease in harmful air pollution, per the U.S. Department of Energy.
When it comes to battery technology, advancements such as cobalt-free silicon and anode batteries have enhanced EV battery life, a feature the Tesla Model S Taxi has embraced.
The Tessie app — a Tesla management platform that provides analytics, automations, and integrations — has been noted as a quick and decent way to assess a Tesla's battery health. For the Tesla Model S Taxi, the EV was revealed to have 76.9% of its original 90-kilowatt-hour capacity (64.9 kilowatt hours), per Inside EVs.
On a full charge, it was estimated the EV would still provide up to 216 miles, delivering much usable range for its age, which benefits both the battery and the cost of vehicle maintenance.
"Nice to see Tesla's continuous improvement play out," wrote one reader.
"At the end of the day, degradation isn't an issue, if the battery doesn't fail," commented another.
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